Vice President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Founder of the International Dialogue for Environmental Action (IDEA) global initiative Leyla Aliyeva was familiarized with the Thalassemia Center in Baku, 15 November.

Health Minister Ogtay Shiraliyev informed Mrs. Aliyeva about the activity of the Center. The Minister said the Center was constructed as part of the “For Life without Thalassemia” Programme of Heydar Aliyev Foundation, to which children’s health is a priority.

Mr. Shiraliyev stressed the Center serves about 30-40 patients a day. The Minister pointed out there are approximately 1000 people living in Azerbaijan with thalassemia and 60 percent of them are cured at the Center, which has an appliance automatically identifying the blood group and other necessary equipments. The blood donated here is examined instantly.

Vice President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva toured the transfusion hall, where blood transfusion operations are performed, 12-room clinic, manipulation rooms, lab, reanimation ward, the molecular diagnostics lab and sterilization room. For the first time in the republic, an operation room has been created here for the bone marrow transplantation and a large work is underway to apply this process. The Center has a special polyclinic.

In the conference room, L.Aliyeva watched a video about the statistics of patients with thalassemia in Azerbaijan. She was informed of the Hemophilia and Thalassemia Heritable Blood Diseases State Programme underway in the country, which receives 16,3 mln AZN from state budget. Prior to this, a respective 5-year programme has been accomplished. Implementation of these programmes has reduced almost to zero the death rates from these diseases.

Leyla Aliyeva also visited a canteen of the facility.

Gifts were presented to children treated at the Center on behalf of Heydar Aliyev Foundation.